Texas Topaz Nonfiction List for Adults

Here are some recommendations for adults from the 2026 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List! The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children, teens, and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. Visit txla.org/reading-lists for the full list and lists from previous years.


Updated January 13, 2026
Lewisville Public Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Whack job : a history of axe murder
James, Rachel McCarthy
Paper Book
A brilliant and bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture. For as long as the axe has been in our hands, we have used it to kill. Much...
Cabin : off-the-grid adventures with a clueless craftsman
Hutchison, Patrick (Journalist)
Paper Book
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER A memoir of the author's journey from an office job to restoring a cabin in the Pacific Northwest, based on his wildly popular Outside Magazine piece. Wit's End isn't just a state of mind. It's the name of a gravel road, the address...
McMillions: The Absolutely True Story of How an Unlikely Pair of FBI Agents Brought down the Most Supersized Fraud in Fast Food History
Hernandez, James Lee
In this stranger than fiction story of the massive crime network that rigged the McDonald's monopoly game for decades, unlock new, exclusive interviews and stories that couldn't make it into the HBO docuseries, McMillion$. Perfect for readers of Argo, The Wizard of Lies, and...
Snafu : the definitive guide to history's greatest screwups
Helms, Ed
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller  From actor, comedian, writer, and host of the hit history podcast SNAFU, Ed Helms brings you an absurdly entertaining look at history's biggest blunders, complete with lively illustrations.       ...
Awake : a memoir
Hatmaker, Jen
Paper Book
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, OPRAH DAILY, GOODREADS, KIRKUS REVIEWS, AND MORE A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "I can't imagine any woman reading this without feeling seen, inspired, and totally empowered." -...
Daughter of daring : the trick-riding, train-leaping, road-racing life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's first stuntwoman
O'Meara, Mallory
Paper Book
From LA Times bestselling author Mallory O'Meara, the story of America's first professional stuntwoman, Helen Gibson, who rose to fame during a time when women ruled Hollywood. Helen Gibson was a woman willing to do anything to give audiences a thrill. Advertised as "The...
Dinner for Vampires Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult)
Lenz, Bethany Joy.
An "incredible" (Alex Cooper, Call Her Daddy), "riveting" (People) New York Times bestselling memoir by One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz about her decade in a cult and her quest to break free. In the early 2000s, after years of hard work and...
The 10 : a memoir of family and the open road
Hanks, E. A.
Paper Book
From the Vanity Fair and New York Times contributor comes a "masterful blend of humor, heartache, and unforgettable landscapes" (Adrienne Brodeur, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Game) recounting the solo, cross-country road trip she made along the Ten across...
99% perspiration : a new working history of the American way of life
Chandler, Adam
Paper Book
An enlightening and entertaining interrogation of the myth of American self-reliance and the idea of hard work as destiny "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." This phrase, arguably Thomas Edison's most famous quote, has been drilled...
Algospeak : how social media is transforming the future of language
Aleksic, Adam
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From linguist Adam Aleksic, known as @etymologynerd on social media, comes a captivating exploration of how internet algorithms are transforming language and communication in unprecedented ways. "Packed with fascinating facts, of-the-moment...
The art spy : the extraordinary untold tale of WWII resistance hero Rose Valland
Young, Michelle
Paper Book
A riveting and stylish saga set in Paris during World War II, THE ART SPY uncovers how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the cultural legacy of the West. On August 25, 1944, Rose Valland, a woman of quiet daring, found herself in a desperate position...
The beast in the clouds : the Roosevelt brothers' deadly quest to find the mythical giant panda
Holt, Nathalia
Paper Book
A New York Public Library Best Book of 2025 | A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2025 "A beautiful and powerful book." --Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt "Valuable, revelatory, and...
Code dependent : living in the shadow of AI
Murgia, Madhumita
Paper Book
Shortlisted for the Women''s Prize for Non-Fiction Named a best book of the year by Esquire, The Spectator and Publishers Weekly A riveting story of what it means to be human in a world changed by artificial...
Disney High : the untold story of the rise and fall of Disney Channel's tween empire
Spencer, Ashley (Journalist)
Paper Book
The first unauthorized look at the inner workings--and ultimate breakdown--of the Disney Channel machine For many kids growing up in the 2000s, there was no cultural touchstone more powerful than Disney Channel, the most-watched cable channel in primetime at its peak. Today,...
Drawn testimony : my four decades as a courtroom sketch artist
Rosenberg, Jane
Paper Book
From America's top courtroom sketch artist, a penetrating, compulsively readable memoir about her dramatic four-decade career "A mesmerizing look at this rarest of professions..."-Bookpage STARRED review "Readers will be hard-pressed to...
Framed Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
Grisham, John.
Ebook
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The master of the legal thriller" (Associated Press) teams up with "the godfather of the innocence movement" (Texas Monthly) to share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. "Each of these stories is told with astonishing...
Girl on girl : how pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves
Gilbert, Sophie
Paper Book
A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book * Named one of the Best Books of the Year by TIME, NPR, Elle, and The Boston Globe "Searing... rigorously researched but never stuffy... Gilbert has compiled perhaps the first comprehensive...
Grief is for people
Crosley, Sloane
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Year by Vogue, TIME, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Esquire, NPR, Elle, Library Journal, LitHub, Oprah Daily, Publishers Weekly, Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, Bookpage, The Independent, and New Statesman
A marriage at sea : a true story of love, obsession, and shipwreck
Elmhirst, Sophie
THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER & ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025 A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2025 ALSO NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY NPR, VOGUE, TIME MAGAZINE, THE NEW YORKER, AND MORE "This is nonfiction that...
No more tears : the dark secrets of Johnson & Johnson
Harris, Gardiner
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . An explosive, deeply reported expose of Johnson & Johnson, one of America's oldest and most trusted pharmaceutical companies-from an award-winning investigative journalist "A damning portrait."-Associated Press "A page-turning...
Raising Hare A Memoir
Dalton, Chloe.
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * FINALIST FOR THE 2025 WOMEN'S PRIZE * A fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, loss, and our relationship with the natural world, explored through the story of one woman's unlikely friendship with a wild hare.
The scientist and the serial killer : the search for Houston's lost boys
Olsen, Lise
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . The true story of how one dedicated forensic scientist restored the long-lost identities of the teenaged victims of the "Candy Man," one of America's most prolific serial killers "A masterwork of crime writing . . . Lise Olsen has taken a fifty-year-old...
Sociopath : a memoir
Gagne, Patric
Paper Book
The acclaimed New York Times bestselling memoir of the author's struggle to understand her own sociopathy and shed light on the often maligned and misunderstood mental disorder. "A cross between a podcast by relationship therapist Esther Perel and a salacious tell-all."...
A survivor's education : women, violence, and the stories we don't tell
Neumeyer, Joy
Paper Book
A Kirkus Best Book of 2024  An "impeccably researched book" (Michelle Bowdler) about intimate abuse, campus politics, and the narratives we choose to believe "gives a fresh perspective on what it means to be a survivor." (Kirkus starred review)
Taking care : the story of nursing and its power to change our world
DiGregorio, Sarah
Paper Book
"DiGregorio's storytelling is pitch-perfect; narrative and nursing, she understands, come from the same place and both are concerned with a deep understanding of character and plot....This is a brilliant book, and DiGregorio is a beautiful writer. Taking Care deserves to be on the...
Vanishing treasures : a bestiary of extraordinary endangered creatures
Rundell, Katherine
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NAMED A BEST BOOK OF FALL: WASHINGTON POST, CBS, BOSTON GLOBE, CHICAGO TRIBUNE & MORE * From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Rundell comes a "rare and magical book" (Bill Bryson) reckoning with the vanishing wonders of our natural...
We were once a family : a story of love, death, and child removal in America
Asgarian, Roxanna
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 National Book Critics Circle for Nonfiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A Washington Post best nonfiction book of 2023 | Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction "A riveting indictment of the...
A Well-Trained Wife My Escape from Christian Patriarchy
Levings, Tia.
Ebook
The instant New York Times bestseller: "Today it hit me when he hit me, blood shaking in my brain. Maybe there wasn't a savior coming. Maybe it was up to me to save me." Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.